Further down the same article
"He was lucid, conscious," Mr McFerrin said. "He was talking, joking with some of the rescue workers at one point."

When one person tried to take a photo with a mobile phone, Mr Freeman joked, "no freebies, no freebies," Mr McFerrin said.
(Capitan Last night a BJ choked my wife, Tue 5 Aug 2008, 3:32, archived)